Healthy Way of Life
Read the text and do the tasks after it.
Healthy way of life has become much more popular today than it used to be.
Nowadays people realize that if you are in perfect health you can have more
pleasures in life. For millions of people around the world, regular exercise and a
balanced diet are now part of their daily lives. Dozens of magazines enlighten the
readers about the essentials of the healthy life style.
The most important thing is regular exercise, which helps people to stay fit. Fit
people live longer, healthier lives than unfit people - especially unfit people, who also
smoke, drink or take drugs. Fitness reduces the risk of heart attacks, increases
strength and stamina. You sleep better and don't get tired so easily. Fitness helps you
to lose weight, to increase the tone of your muscles, makes you feel happier and more
positive. Fit people do not only feel good, they look good, too.
In order to stay fit some people jog, cycle or swim, while others prefer to
workout in gyms, do aerobics or play team sports. But even if you are too pressed for
the time to avoid a 20-minute energetic exercise, you can walk to your work every
day instead of taking a taxi; you should ignore the lift and climb the stairs if your flat
is not too high up.
Another important issue is food. Healthy food advocates prefer to grill rather
than to fry food. Avoid eating too much sugary, salty or fatty food and try to have a
portion of fresh fruit every day. Don't eat junky food which is served in fast-food
restaurants. It doesn't have any nutritional value and leads to extra weight.
Health-conscious people should also try to accustom their body to cold. It is
especially advisable for those who are subject to chills, coughs and sore throats. They
should take a cold shower or have a cold rub-down every morning. This will
invigorate their body and keep them from catching cold.
Smoking and alcohol are absolutely incompatible with the healthy lifestyle.
Smoking is not just a bad habit. The latest medical investigations have proved that it
results in many lung diseases and leads to cancer. As for alcohol abuse, its evils are
social, professional and family life. Both health and character are often ruined.
Unfortunately, today the whole humanity is facing one more serious problem -
drugs. Drugs damage people, especially young people, more than anything else.
Increasing number of teenagers suffer from the effects of heroin addiction. The result
is nearly always the same: broken life and early death.
Another acute problem is obsession with television and the Internet.
Information is becoming a new drug of the century. We are witnessing the rise of the
generation of dataholics and the Internet addicts. Children, for example, spend more
time glued to a PC or TV screen than interacting with their friends. This quest for
information can lead to stress, depression or severe illness. We were not built for
sitting at a desk all day. If we don't get the exercise our body wants, then things can
go badly wrong.
Some people are healthy eating and sporty type. Others destroy themselves
with cigarettes, alcohol and junk food. In each case it is we who make the choice.
And if you feel that you should change your lifestyle, start today!
1. Complete the following sentences:
a) Dozens of magazines inform the readers about ...
b) Avoid eating too much ...
c) Junk food is not healthy because ...
d) Health conscious people should ...
e) Smoking and alcohol are ...
f) Increasing number of teens suffers ...
g) Children spend more time in front of ...
h) If we don’t get exercise enough ...
i) Some people destroy themselves with ...
j) In any case we have to ...
2. Read the text again and make notes under the following headings:
a) Reasons for popularity of the healthy way of life.
b) Essentials of the healthy lifestyle.
c) Dangers of smoking and alcohol abuse.
d) Obsession with information as a new disease of our
time.
e) Style of life we can choose from.
